Dark Inside
by titieli
Summary: Cassandra has left Mystic Falls with Stefan and Klaus, hoping this way she'll keep Damon and the rest of Mystic Falls safe. But Klaus' intentions are not going according to plan and things in Mystic Falls aren't exactly perfect, either. Everything worsens when the three of them decide to go back to Mystic Falls to deal with unfinished business. Sequel to 'Dark Side' Damon/OC.
1. The Summer

A/N: okay, guys, here's the sequel to Dark Side! Yai! If you're new here, I suggest you go to my page and read Dark Side first, otherwise you may not understand what's going on. If you're here because you read Dark Side and desired to continue reading about Cass and Damon, then thank you very much for supporting me and coming with me this far. I love you guys and here's the first chapter, enjoy.

**_Dark Inside_**

_"Don't wanna let you down  
but I am hell bound  
Though this is all for you  
don't wanna hide the truth."_

_ -Demons, Imagine Dragons._

**_Chapter 1: The Summer._**

The redheaded vampire rolls her eyes in exasperation, wanting to go home. Well, not home but the weird place where she, Stefan and Klaus are staying at. Klaus is nomad, she swears. They have moved more times since she agreed to go with him than when she had been running away from him. She supposes it is so Damon will lose the trail on them but her beloved raven-haired vampire is hot on their heels. And now she's stuck playing babysitter with an almost rabid Stefan Salvatore in the mid of a bloodlust fit.

"Yes?" she asks into her phone, walking away from the bloodied apartment where Stefan's ripping a couple apart. He claims it's because Klaus orders him to but she knows he's actually enjoying it.

"_Oh, so now you're answering your phone?"_ Katherine asks, her tone teasing.

"I'm bored, Katherine." She admits, tilting her head slightly to one side. "Are you not going to ask me where we are?" she asks.

"_Mmm, I don't feel like knowing right now." _Katherine muses, a smirk in her face.

Cassandra laughs bitterly, knowing pretty well what that meant. "Oh, so you already know, don't you? Let me guess, you're next door."

"_Not exactly," _Katherine chuckles. "_But close enough." _

Cassandra looks back into the apartment, noticing how Stefan hasn't even noticed she's gone out. He's currently in phase 3: regret. She watches as he looks at the girl he ripped with a bit of guilt as he starts to put her back together. Ugh, it's disgusting.

"Here's something I don't get…" she starts, focusing back on the call. "Damon's been burning my phone with calls; understandable, I _did_ walk out on him without much information." She shrugs. "Now, Elena—it's like she doesn't know how to do anything but text me. Funny, I thought we were friends but she mostly only asks for Stefan's wellbeing." She scoffs at that, rolling her eyes. "And Caroline! God, that girl is truly a pain in the behind! We're not even friends but I magically disappear and suddenly she's all worked up about it. Have I mentioned how much I hate vampires with bubbly always cheery personalities?" she asks sarcastically.

_"Is this rant of yours going somewhere, Red?" _Katherine asks, amused at the girl's frustration.

"Why are _you_ calling, Katherine?" she asks. "You know where I am, you know what I'm doing, and you probably even know what Klaus is planning."

There's silence on the other side of the line and Cassandra straightens up. So that's what this is about, Katherine knows. She has found out what Cassandra herself has been trying to figure out for half the summer. She looks back quickly, knowing Stefan is almost over.

"You _do_ know, don't you? Tell me." she demands. "Katherine, tell me right now or I'll tell Klaus where you are." She threatens.

"_Okay…" _Katherine sighs, feigning annoyance. _"Have you noticed, little Red, that lately almost all of Stefan's victims are… wolves?"_ Katherine asks.

_Oh, well._ She thinks. _I'm growing old._ Cassandra hates how stupid she's become. Of course, it all makes sense now. Klaus wants to create new hybrids. But for that he needs a big pack of werewolves. One that has already a deep foundation, one whose members are so close they're practically family, that way he'd already have an army who's willing to cooperate. She knew that pack. All the wolves they had ran into were stupid little scavengers who had no idea where to find said pack. So they were useless, killable. All the killing they had done at first was just to make sure Stefan got fully into ripper mode.

"Katherine, if it weren't for the fact that you haven't been my favorite person in the world this year, I could hug you." She thanks the brunette.

_"My pleasure. Now, what do you want me to tell Damon?"_

"Nice try." Cassandra scoffs. "You're not telling him anything. Nothing at all, not even a 'hello'. I want you as far away from Mystic Falls as possible."

She rushes through her words when she hears footsteps from downstairs. That's probably Klaus, returning from wherever he goes when he leaves her babysitting. She hangs up and hides her phone into her short's pocket, turning to watch Stefan. She forces a grin into her face when she feels a pair of arms around her. She turns to find Klaus smiling down at her. She doesn't understand how she had loved this man once. He's wicked in every way possible. It used to allure her, now it made her want to shiver in disgust.

"Well, where have you been?" she asks teasingly, putting her arms around his neck.

"I've been around, love, doing some things." He answers vaguely. "How's our ripper doing?"

"He's currently reconstructing a very damaged body… probably memorizing another name, you know, to add to the list." She rolls her eyes. "He should be finished soon and we need to leave quickly. The police'll be here shortly." She clicks her tongue.

"Now, why—" Stefan says, leaving the apartment and walking towards them. He watches Cass for a second longer than necessary, completely repulsed by how fast she moved from his brother to _Klaus_. "Would the police be here 'shortly'?" he mocks her choice of words as he cleanses his chin of any blood with the back of his hand.

Cassandra steps away from Klaus, who stands back with a witty smirk on his face to enjoy the show. Feisty Cassandra is the best. She raises one eyebrow at Stefan as she crosses her arms across her chest. Stefan mimics her, not wanting to deal with any sass.

"You just massacred," she starts, pursing her lips when Stefan opens his mouth to interrupt her.

"_I _did?" he presses.

"Fine," Cassandra spats back at him. "_We_ just massacred an entire _three-story_ building… I'm pretty sure the police will find out. Perhaps even the FBI and I do not want to be here when that happens. There's not enough amount of acting skills to get us out of this one if they catch us as the only three people left alive." she pauses and eyes Stefan's shirt with annoyance. "Especially when one of us has blood on his shirt. Seriously, Stefan, after all this time, you still don't know how to kill without ending up wearing your meal?" she chastises.

"I don't need a mother, Cassandra. Don't treat me as baby." Stefan informs her, his tone laced with his own annoyance.

"Then don't act like one." She replies without battling an eye.

Klaus pushes himself off the wall, not wanting this stupid quarrel to continue. Cassandra is right. They've been causing havoc everywhere they go for quiet some time now, the police is already paranoid.

"All right, let's not get all worked out, shall we?" he asks, moving to put his arm around Cassandra's waist. "I still need you both alive and well."

With that he moves to the stairs, walking down them with Cass and Stefan following him, the two younger vampires shooting daggers at each others.

...

Damon sighs as he walks around the second-floor corridor of Cassandra's house. Everything is exactly like she left it, almost two months and two weeks ago. He finds himself here at times when Mystic Falls becomes too much, not that he'd ever admit that, even if he knows everyone knows. Andy knows, Alaric knows, Elena knows, the last thing he needs it's for Barbie vampire to know too. But he knows she probably already does. Everything is becoming too much; he hates to admit he's losing control of the situation. Stefan's body count is rising, it's leaking. At least he hopes it Stefan's and not Cassie's, although he knows she's probably helped. If that is true, then their humanity might be getting farther and farther away. And Elena bugging him every time there's a murder announced on TV does not help matters. He frowns when he gets to the last room, its door marked by some weird symbol he has no idea what it means. Damon had never gotten this far into the house, always staying in the areas he knew Cass spent most of her time in. he was pinning after her, badly. He opens the door and enters, only to take a step backwards at the view that receives him.

"Oh, would you look at that!" the girl exclaims, turning on her feet, her long era dress swinging with her movements. "Damon Salvatore finally ventures his way into the forbidden section." She gives him a smile then and he takes a step forward. Damon knows that smile.

"How did you get here?"

He walks closer to the mysterious redheaded girl but stops when he spots the rest of the contents of the room. In the middle of the room was a big circle, made out of what appears to be crushed now-dried lavender and still-lit candles that are completely melted out and that should've already burn out but are somehow still alit.

"She brought me back for a half an hour," the girl says. "Well, I had thought it had been for half an hour, but she left in a hurry and must have left the spell going. Now I can come in here for a few hours before having to go back to the other side, the good thing is I do it whenever I want." She walks closer to the limit of the circle so she can see him closer, her blue eyes shining.

"_She_ did?" Damon asks, even if he knows who 'she' is.

"Cassandra." The young girl nods, looking sympathetically at him when he flinches a bit. "You've been coming here since she left, I've heard you, but you've never made it past her bedroom." The girl points out. He remains silent, inspecting her. "What are you looking for? She's gone, Damon."

"She can't be gone forever, all her stuff is here." He replies, all too aware that he sounds like a spoiled child. "And if you've been here all this time, how come you haven't left this room?"

"Oh, I can't walk past the circle." she giggles, waving him off. "It isn't the first time she's had to run away and leave all her stuff behind."

"Who the hell are you?" he demands, walking even closer until they're practically nose to nose. He hopes this will intimidate her but it seems to amuse him.

"I thought you were smart." She smiles, looking up at him. "I see what she sees in you, you're really handsome. Dark past, though." she adds as an afterthought, making him uncomfortable.

"That doesn't answer my question." He smirks down at her.

"Handsome but not too smart, I see." She muses. "I'm Anastasia," she says, taking a step back. Her sister might not be here but she wouldn't appreciate it if she saw Ana this close to Damon.

Damon stares at her. He can see the resemblance, same smile, some personality traits. Anastasia looks much more cheery than Cassandra ever has. He supposes it has to do with the fact that she's younger, more innocent. But he still doesn't understand. Cassandra said she had killed Anastasia, that she had failed to bring her back. Why would Anastasia be here, smiling up at him and with a glint in her eyes that suggest she knows the answer to all the questions in the universe? Why would she stay?

"Why are you here?" Damon asks, not wanting to waist time. There's a distress teenage girl back at the Boarding House who is in desperate need of good news, he is not getting any good news.

"I wanted to warn you," Anastasia said, the juvenile air around her disappearing and her eyes darkening in a way that was all too familiar to him. "Stop chasing her, Damon. She does not want to be found."

"How do I know this isn't you trying to stop me from finding her?" he scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"Why would I do that?" she asks, narrowing her eyes.

"She killed you," Damon says instantly, ignoring the threatening look on the girl, because she's just that, a small girl. A small _dead_ girl. "For all I know you hate her and this is your only form of revenge."

"I love my sister." Anastasia sneers, crossing her arms over her chest. "I would never do that to her. She'll eventually come back and when she does, she's not going to be the person you know." She informs him.

"I've seen her with her humanity turned off, thanks for telling me something I already knew." He scoffs again, annoying Ana to an unbelievable end.

"Yes, you've met ripper Cassandra, you've met vampire happy Cassandra. Have you met human Cassandra?" Anastasia snaps.

"Human Cassandra?" he repeats. This doesn't make any sense. Why would human Cassandra be worse than vampire Cassandra?

"Mother taught her how to be a cold carcass of the girl she used to be. Would you like to know why? Because the magic she practiced couldn't have the witch feeling. If you don't feel, you are powerful." She explains, walking around the circle.

"That's her with her humanity turned off." Damon points out, confused.

"No. she simply doesn't feel with her humanity turned off. Like this, she feels, I assure you that, she simply doesn't show it. She's a rock, as cold as ice." Anastasia corrects, staring off into space like she's remembering something. Damon guesses she is. "Klaus' favorite version of Cassandra." She adds, a smirk on her face as she looks up at him.

"So?" he demands, not liking where this conversation is going. That's even worse news than he expected.

"So," she starts, joining her hands in front of her. "Brace yourself. And tell Elena to do the same. Goodbye, Damon."

Anastasia sends him a somewhat cold smile before disappearing, leaving Damon alone in the room with a bad feeling brewing in his stomach. He walks out of the house with a new determination; he's going to find Cassandra and Stefan and he's going to bring them back home, Anastasia's opinions be damned.

...

"Did you find anything?" Elena asks the minute he's past the Boarding House door.

He rolls his eyes, ignoring her and making a straight line for the bourdon bottles and the glasses. He pours himself a glass and drowns it all in one go. Elena stands back, waiting until he's finished to talk again. She can tell by the way his shoulders are tense that he didn't find anything good. It's amazing how good she's gotten into reading Damon these past few months.

"Damon." She presses, crossing her arms.

"I didn't find anything, Elena, okay?" Damon almost snaps, not turning to see her.

"Well, I did." She announces, walking over to him and showing him a newspaper clip. "This was two days ago. A three story building was attacked near Raleigh, no survivors. The police thinks it's the work of a serial killer but I honestly believe it's Klaus. It follows the other deaths and the report says the bodies had little to no blood in them." She explains once she notices Damon is not going to take the clip.

"Hmh, sure." He hums, taking the piece of paper from her and discarding it.

"Why are you ignoring me again?" Elena demands, almost throwing a tantrum.

"Because it's useless, Elena." Damon snaps back. "Do you honestly believe Klaus would make it this simple? That he would simply leave bread crumbs for us to follow?" he asks, not telling her that it's not Klaus the one killing all these people; it's Cassie and Stefan.

"You've given up," Elena says, her arms falling to her sides as she looks at him with disbelief.

Damon doesn't answer her; instead, he serves himself another glass of bourbon and turns around, ready to go up the stairs and to his room. He won't tell Elena, but he'll add the newspaper clip to his rising pile of murders to look into.

"Fine!" Elena calls after him. "You do whatever you want, but I won't give up. I will never give up."

He closes to door to his room, allowing Elena to fume downstairs, alone.

...

"Why are we staying here again?" Stefan asks as he walks around the one-story house, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Cassandra ignores him, walking past him to explore the house. Klaus finally informed them they were looking for a specific werewolf; Ray. He was supposed to have family in Tennessee. So far, Ray was a ghost. But this kill looked promising, with a little luck, they'd be able to get the information they needed.

"You are going to stay here while I go make sure we're near the right place." Klaus explains to him. "And then you're going to do exactly as I say."

Stefan watches as Klaus smiles smugly before turning to Cassandra. His smile turns slightly warmer but it's still creepy. The redhead doesn't seem affected by this, just like she doesn't even recoil when the Original approaches her and leans in to kiss her. Stefan watches with hidden disgust as her eyes close and she kisses back before parting and looking up at Klaus.

"You stay here, all right, love?" Klaus orders her.

He starts to walk towards the door; the redhead turns her back on Stefan to watch him go. Klaus knows she's going to make sure Stefan doesn't try to run for the hills, or has a sudden change of heart, while he's out. After three months, he still doesn't trust Stefan completely. Seeing as though Cassandra still has her back to Stefan while she makes sure the Original is completely gone, Stefan can't see how her smile drops immediately. She fights back a shudder, not believing she's been pretending to be okay with all this for three months now. She's been dealing with all the killings and the parties and the searching like it's everyday life for her, when in reality she only wants to go back home.

"I thought you were in love with my brother," Stefan says accusatorily.

She turns to face him, a cold expression on her face.

"I thought you had turned your humanity off." She lifts an eyebrow at the young Salvatore.

"I have." He answers, making her scoff.

Like hell he has. If he truly had, he wouldn't have asked her about his brother. Damon wouldn't even cross his mind as a feeble thought, one of those that come and go as easily as they appear. Besides, she can see it in his eyes, even if he's pretty good at hiding it, all he wants is for this to be over so he can go back to Mystic Falls, back to Elena. He counts every person he kills, hoping one day he'll reach the body count Klaus wants so he can go home. It's a pity he hasn't realized that's not how things work.

"Try saying that with less emotion and I may believe you." She retorts, walking closer to him.

"Have you seen how many people I've killed? No one with humanity can do that." He asks, slight desperation sipping through the wavering in his voice.

"Oh, darling, that's got nothing to do with it." She dismisses with a wave of her hand. "Just because you're a ripper doesn't mean you don't feel."

"That's what you did then? You turned off your humanity?" Stefan asks, needing to know how she can behave so normally.

"On the contrary, I embraced it," She says, moving to sit down on a tattered sofa. She wonders how the hell Klaus found this awfully kept house. Once she notices Stefan's more than confused expression, she sighs and pats the spot beside her, deciding to give Stefan a small clue as to what's going on. "I'm about to tell you something, the key to surviving living with Klaus, but you better not tell anyone." She warns once he has sat next to her. "Klaus likes to be obeyed, likes things to be done his way. That's how he knows if he should trust people or not. After a while, he allows you to talk back a bit—"

"He looks about ready to kill me every time I argue." Stefan cuts in, disagreeing.

"That's because he doesn't trust you yet, not completely." She rolls her eyes. "As I was saying, if you behave, after a while, he grants you certain freedom to do what you want. Of course, you'd always have to be within a phone call's reach but it's something."

Stefan nods, starting to understand why she behaves the way she does. It's not that she's forgotten his brother; it's that she's trying to gain Klaus trust to gain her freedom.

"So you're trying to get said freedom…" Stefan starts, a little hesitant.

"So I can go back to Damon." She admits, lowering her eyes for a moment. "Of course I wouldn't tell Klaus where I was going but…" she trails off, not knowing how to finish.

"How long would it take for him to let you go wherever you want?" Stefan asked.

"It depends… months, years? It's up to how I behave and if he feels like it, really." She sighs, running a hand through her hair. "I promised Damon I'd go back and I will, no matter what I have to do to make that happen." She finishes, getting up and leaving the room.

Stefan stares after her, admitting to himself that he had highly underestimated her. Klaus comes back after an hour, his spirit slightly uplifted. Cassandra and Stefan get up from the couch, where they've been waiting for at least fifteen minutes. Cass had looked around the entire house and found nothing interesting, so she had gone back to the living room to sit with Stefan while they waited.

"I've found the place." Klaus informs them as he walks in but leaves the door open. "It's a two hour drive, let's go."

With that he walks out of the house again. Stefan and Cass meet eyes briefly as they put on their jackets before following, knowing tonight's going to be a long night.


	2. The Birthday

**_Chapter 2: The Birthday._**

They walk through the darkness, Cass flat pale-pink ballerina shoes getting slightly wet because of the residue of the summer rain on the pavement. She hates this. She admits the plan is pretty nice, but why do they have to walk all this way when Stefan can wait happily in the car until it's his time to play? Her shoes are new. And, God, oh God, why does the plan have to include her acting all scared and damsel-in-distress and _needy_ so that the stupid wolves would let them both in? She refused to act like she needed Klaus. And yet, here she is mulling the words she's going to say over in her head so everything goes according to plan, because, dammit, if it doesn't, then what was the point of the last three months? They hear the younger girl, the blonde one, Cass can't remember her name for the sake of her life, before they see her. She's calling for her dog, looking around exasperatedly. She doesn't even hear them walk into her yard. Talk about keen werewolf senses being top notch, Cassandra muses before making sure to morph her expression into one of fear.

"Jesus!" the blonde wolf exclaims when she turns around to come face to face with Cass and Klaus.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Klaus apologizes with a perfect American accent.

"I told you we had to call out to her, honey," she says, taking a step closer to him and looking around with frightened widened eyes. "This place is so creepy at night."

"Our car broke a few miles away," Klaus explains, putting one arm around her shoulders. "We've been walking for hours. Can we use your phone?"

"What about your cell phone?" the blonde asks, suspicious.

"His battery died and I left mine at the hotel." Cassandra giggles at the end, as if saying 'silly me!'

The blonde nods, starting to back away into the house. Apparently the rational part of her brain's catching up with what's going on here. Klaus gives her a flashing smile and Cassandra tries to look as innocent as possible.

"Oh, okay," the young blonde says, turning away from them.

Cassandra frowns. That's not part of the plan. The girl needs to let them in. She looks up at Klaus to see he's thinking the same thing. Cass calls out to the blonde before it's to late.

"So, will you let us in?" she asks, smiling a bit and widening her eyes a bit more, going for the doe-eyed look. "I'm really scared and I only want to go home."

"I don't care." The blonde snaps. "I'll bring the phone out to you." The girl sends them a fake smile before starting to back away again.

"I thought you southerners were filled with hospitality," Klaus says, his tone dropping slightly threateningly.

"I'm from Florida," the blonde says, her smile full of sarcasm and sass.

That's enough for Cassandra and she drops the innocent act in the blink of an eye. She can see the blonde's eyes widening slightly at the lethal glare the redheaded sends her. Cass doesn't even have to look up at Klaus to know he's changed the nice act too.

"That explains it, I suppose." She snarls at the wolf.

Klaus flashes toward the blonde wolf and grabs her neck, making eye contact so he'll be able to compel her. Meanwhile, Cass flips out her phone and sends Stefan a quick text; _now_.

"Now, show us a little bit of southern hospitality," Klaus compels, his accent back to the smooth British it's always possessed. "Sweet pie." He adds with a little smirk.

The blonde nods and walks back to the house, letting them in without much complaint, even if Cass could tell she didn't want to let them inside. The voice of the other woman reaches them as they make their way to the kitchen, Klaus' hands still on the blonde. The tanned-skinned woman has her back to them as she puts the contents of a pan in a bowl. When the girl doesn't answer her, she turns around, frowning. Her features turn a bit scared when she notices the scene playing out in front of them; Klaus, with his hand in the back of the blonde's neck and Cassandra, slowly making her way toward the counter, ready to stop the other woman if she were to do a reckless move.

"What's going on?" she asks, her brown eyes turning worried when the blonde younger girl starts to cry.

"Please, don't be alarmed." Klaus tries to console. "I was told Ray Sutton lives here."

"He's hardly ever here." The tanned wolf explains, shifting a bit when Cass gets closer to the knife on the counter. She doesn't really need it but it makes both women scare and the fear in their blood makes it all even more exciting. "He's on the road most of the time."

"But he comes back, doesn't he?" Cass asks, tilting her head to the side, her hair falling like a waterfall. "At least once a month." She adds, loving the way the other woman squirms. She _hates_ werewolves.

"That's what I thought," Klaus says when he sees the woman squirm.

He starts to walk closer to her, dragging the blonde with him. The girl is trying to contain scared sobs, but the tears are streaming down her face. The other woman tries to stop the fear from showing on her face but it's noticeable in more ways than one. Her body language screams it into the air.

"Where is he now?" Klaus asks. Neither woman speaks. "you know, if you don't make us have to force it out of you it will be a lot less violent for you, won't it, Cass?" he warns, sending the redhead a glance.

"Hmh, yes, definitely." She hums, trailing a finger through the counter's edge. She knows it's a blatant lie but they don't need to know.

The woman sends them a hard look before making up her mind and running out of the kitchen from the other door and into the hall. Cassandra rolls her eyes, walking away from the counter and starting to walk after the idiotic woman. How could she possibly believe she could outrun them? Klaus chuckles, enjoying this, before walking away as well, the blonde girl practically being pulled by her hair by now. Cassandra knows Stefan has arrived when the woman screams from the hallway. Her suspicion is confirmed when she gets to the hallway and sees Stefan leaning into the doorframe with both of his hands, not allowing any exit. His expression is the same he wears each time they go hunting, that of an undeniably cruel predator.

"I love it when they run!" Klaus speaks, smirking at Stefan. Cassandra rolls her eyes. She doesn't really.

"He's in Tully!" the brunette exclaims, defeated. "It's near the border. A bar called Southern Comfort, it's in highway 41." Her voice quavered at the end.

"Thanks, dear. Now, may our friend come in?" Klaus asks the blonde.

"Yes, he may come in." she sobs, most likely already knowing her fate.

Stefan's face darkens considerably at the idea of a happy easy meal. He slowly opens the door and walks in, making the brunette cower away from him. The blonde girl starts to sob harder. Cassandra waits. She hates this part. This is where she's babysitter. It's also exhausting. Part of her wants to join Stefan in the carnage, another wants to cry at how brutal they're being. She's never truly ripped someone to pieces. She's killed mercilessly; she's tortured but never ripped someone _apart_. It freaks her out how easily Stefan can do it but she can't show that. Klaus would know everything's an act. And what would happen if suddenly Klaus decided to turn Stefan against her? She does not want to be ripped apart.

"Cassandra, love, kill this one quickly." Klaus throws the blonde at her, making the poor girl stumble and quiver in fear.

"Make that one suffer," Klaus says to Stefan as he starts to walk out. He never stays for this part. "I'll be in the car." He calls after him, shutting the door behind him.

Stefan's eyes start to turn red, veins appearing under them, and his fangs lengthen. Both women start to scream before they've even touched them. Cassandra turns to the blonde girl, who is looking at her with scared blue eyes.

"I swear it won't hurt," Cassandra tells her, praying that Stefan is too lost in bloodlust to hear her.

With one fluid motion, she snaps the girl's neck, watching as she falls to the ground, lifeless. Stefan can still feed on her if he hurries, so she makes her way into the living room, wanting to explore a wolf's house. She finds the wolves aren't that poor at all. Is that a species thing? Because the Lockwoods are packed with money. Of course, so is she, so she supposes it's a supernatural thing. She looks down at her feet when she realizes she's walking on hollow ground. Oh, this is interesting. She kneels down next to the rug, the sounds of screaming and Stefan feeding reaching her and forcing to suppress a shudder. No, no, no feelings. She's a rock. She does not feel, therefore, there should be no shuddering. And yet, here she is, fighting the urge to run away from this house that's soon to become as gruesome as Saw. She lifts the rug to find a trapdoor. She opens it easily and isn't surprised to find there's a basement filled with chains and restrains. She closes it again and puts the rug in place. They're very close to Mystic Falls, a few states away, a few hours away. Damon is definitely going to get this news and he's definitely going to come here. Her chest pangs. She wants to stay here, all night long, all day long, however long it takes until he gets here.

Cassandra misses him more than it should be possible. She doesn't understand how she was able to walk out 146 years ago. She supposes it has to do with how she switched the flip back then. She regrets not doing so now but she owns Damon that. She has to hurt because she hurt him enough. And she might as well get over him now. Damon probably doesn't know what she gave in exchange for the cure, he simply knows she left with Klaus, and Cassandra is certain the moment he finds out he's going to hate her. If Damon finds out that she's been pretending to love Klaus, kissing him, even going as far as to have sex with him, for the last three months, he's going to be so hurt he'll probably kill half of Mystic Falls. Or worse, kill someone she cares about to ensure she's as hurt as he is. Cass shakes her head. No, no, she's not doing this now. If she does this now she's going to cry. She's swallowed her tears all summer; she can do it for longer. She gets up quickly when the sounds of footsteps get nearer. The woman stumbled into the living room, looking terrified and with so much blood Cassandra isn't sure where she's hurt.

"Please, help me." the woman screams, desperate.

Cassandra is moved by the desperate cry for help and for a moment, she almost does help her. But she composes herself in time, morphing her features into nothing. She blinks and shakes her head, walking past her and into the hallway where she finds Stefan, looking like a crazed animal. She can't save the brunette; one, because Klaus will kill her if she does and two, because the woman is a werewolf and she will hunt them down if they let her walk away. She moves to the door and sits down on the porch, waiting and desperately trying not to think. Think leads to nothing good.

…

"Are you finished?" Cassandra asks even if she knows the answer.

Stefan is standing next to the sofa, his mouth covered in blood. The house is stained all over with blood and the living room is worse than Saw. She wasn't entirely sure that was possible. The bodies are sitting in the couch, completely ripped but pulled back together. The women's lost open eyes unnerve her.

"Here," she tells Stefan as she hands him a towel she found in the kitchen. He takes it without meeting her eyes. "Can I have a minute alone?" Cass requests.

Stefan looks at her weirdly before starting to walk out of the room, leaving her alone. She walks closer to the sofa until she's standing right in front of it.

"Ut animan tuam pacen," she says, hoping their souls will be free.

With that she turns on her feet to face the wall that was to her back. It's the only one devoid of blood. Until now. She reaches to the floor and touches a small pool of blood with her fingertips before walking towards the wall. She writes the message carefully, making sure it's legible. Then, she casts a spell so the message will only reveal itself when the person she wants to see it walks into the room. Once it's done, she walks out of the room and meets with Stefan by the porch of the house, ready for whatever is to come.

…

"No matter what you see or hear, do not call 911 or offer any help. Once you are finished with your disgusting and useless drunken needs and hobbies, you'll leave this place with no recollection of what you saw." Cassandra compels the last drunk before turning to where Stefan and Klaus are cornering Ray Sutton.

Klaus's been talking to him for around ten minutes now, bragging about how he was a hybrid, half-werewolf, half-vampire, explaining how he's been trying to locate him for such a long time. Ray's tough act has decreased but he still stands strong, she'll give him that.

"Where can I find your pack, Ray?" Klaus asks, he and Stefan walking closer and closer to Ray.

"You can't compel me," Ray says defiantly.

Stefan only lifts his eyebrows, daring Ray to try to say that again. Cassandra walks over to them, not really in the mood to torture Ray. Three months of nothing but that has made her lazy. Besides, they did not sleep at all since they killed the two wolves who directed them here. She may be a vampire but she also needs to sleep. Especially considering how much she loves to do so.

"Listen here, Ray, dear," she starts, not even bothering to acknowledge the two vampires are looking at her weirdly. She grabs his hair by the roots and forces his head backwards so she can meet his eyes. "Usually I'd let you figure things out on your own… but, sadly for you, it appears I've run out of patience. So, you have ten seconds to tell Stefan and my _friend_ here the information we want or… well, let's just say it won't be pretty." The guy is stupid enough to glare at her. She lifts an eyebrow. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five…" she starts to count down, irritated that the wolf isn't breaking yet. How hard can it be to tell his pack's location? Do they hate vampires so much he won't even perk up at the possibility of being one of the most powerful species in the world? "Four… three…" she looks up at Stefan, slightly nodding at him.

"Scotch in the rocks, please." Stefan calls out to the bartender, taking a black velvet bag out of his pocket and starting to open it.

"Two… one." She finishes, pouting slightly at Ray. "Time's up."

She lets go of Ray's hair forcefully, making sure he hits his head in the counter while at it. Klaus smirks at this, enjoying the violence as always. She's not that repulsed by her actions, actually. Ray's a douche.

"We are going to play a little drinking game, Ray." Stefan announces, showing the velvet bag to the slightly dazed werewolf. Okay, so maybe she hit him too hard. "Something I like to call; truth or wolfsbane." Stefan finishes, picking some wolfsbane and lifting it up for Ray to see.

"Mhm, I love the sound of that." Cassandra hums. "Don't you, _Ray?_"

She twists his name until it sounds like the worst insult in the world. Ray starts to get nervous.

"This is going to be fun, Ray," Klaus says, smirking.

…

Birds' chirping is the only sound that welcomes Alaric and Damon into the eerily looking state, where Stefan last released his wrath. Alaric gets out of the car at the same time Damon does, but he's much more freaked than Damon looks. He's never actually come along with Damon for this things, he's not sure what to expect. Damon's phone rings but he ends the call and puts his phone back in his pocket.

"Elena again?" Alaric asks even if he knows the answer.

"Yeah." Damon replies, looking up at the three-story house and dreading what he might find inside.

"Why don't you just tell her what we're doing?" Alaric asks again, copying Damon and looking up at the white house. It looks too clean, too dead. That is never a good sigh.

"Because this may be just another half-lead and I don't want her getting her hopes up." Damon explains. "Besides, she already thinks I gave up, I want her to keep thinking that way."

"Well, they're all half-leads." Alaric protests. _More like dead-ends, _he thinks but keeps quiet. He knows this is as hard to Damon as it is to Elena. "And I'm not comfortable with this. She keeps talking about finding Stefan and here I am as your accomplice. What am I suppose to do? I'm practically living with them." He mumbles at the end, looking around the state with the unnatural feeling in the back of his head that someone is watching.

"Still sleeping on the couch, uh?" Damon asks. Both men know they're stalling; none of them really want to go inside the house.

"Yes, I don't know why. It's not like I'm helping or anything." Alaric pauses, finally ready to address the elephant in the metaphorical room. "It's quiet."

"Awfully so." Damon agrees.

They walk into the house, Damon being able to pass through the door without problem, and Alaric stars immediately. This is ugly. The place is trashed as soon as they walk in and there's a trail of blood that goes further into the house. He fights to keep his composure when he sees a bloodied handprint in the wall next to him. They stop walking when they reach the living room. The two corpses are perfectly arranged to look like the two women are simply sitting in the sofa, hanging out. Every joint has a thin trail of blood. Damon unconsciously releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. This is Stefan's doing, not Cassandra's. She's never ripped someone apart and put them back together. The messy kills are Stefan's, the organized ones are hers. He's come to learn that over the summer.

"Woah, a vampire for sure." Alaric openly stares, repulsed.

"Stefan for sure." Damon scoffs, walking closer so he can inspect the bodies better.

"How do you know?" Alaric questions curiously.

"It's his signature. He feeds so much, he black outs and rips them apart. Then he feels remorse and puts them back together." Damon explains as he slightly touches the blonde's feet.

The movement makes the entire body shift and the head falls off, rolling down until it hits the floor. Alaric gags and turns around, now definitely and completely disgusted. He looks around, trying to get the image out of his mind before he ends up throwing up.

"Definitely Stefan." Damon repeats, staring at the blonde's head.

Alaric nods and his eyes fall on the wall. His heartbeat races when he notices letters are starting to appear in the wall, slowly but surely they form words in what can only be blood. He calms down a bit when he reads the message but his heart is still racing.

"Uh, Damon?" he says hesitantly.

"What?" Damon asks, turning around to face the wall.

Whatever words were about to leave his mouth get stuck in his throat. He knows that handwriting and he also knows who else is with Stefan in this weird version of Splash Mountain where instead of being water there's only blood and nothing else. He reads the message twice, thrice, shockingly realizing this is the only news he's heard from her since she left. Because it is her, isn't it? Damon's eyes shot down to the end of the message, where the signature is.

_Here's a tip; look under the rug._

_ —C._

Who else would sign with a C but Cassie?

"So what do we do?" Alaric asks hesitantly.

"Look under the rug," Damon says, shrugging.

They do as Cassandra told them and aren't that surprise to find a basement ready to contain several werewolves in a full moon under a trapdoor under the rug. They share a look.

"Well, what do you know? Werewolves." Damon drawls before letting the trapdoor snap shut.

He walks out of the house and comes back with some gasoline. Alaric stands aside, letting him work. He's not exactly sure what Damon's doing. He watches as Damon covers the two women and their surroundings with the flammable liquid.

"What are you doing?" Alaric asks.

"Covering their tracks." Damon explains. "They may not want to but I do."

With that he leaves the gasoline next to the sofa and walks over to the door where Alaric is standing. He lights a match and lets it fall near the rug, watching everything burn as Alaric makes his way out. His eyes go once again to the message on the wall. He doesn't care if it's written in blood; he knows how Cass probably obtained the blood and he still doesn't care. The only thing that matters is that she still cares enough to leave a message behind to help Damon out. Anastasia told him the Cassandra he knows is probably gone but that message gave him hope to think otherwise. He knows how dangerous hope can be. With that thought repeating in his mind like a mantra, Damon turns around and leaves the house to burn.

…

Ray grunted as he tried to break the chains that kept him tied to the wall. He had several darts in his face and neck. They'd been going at this for hours now. Stefan is still very entertained; Cassandra wants to kill herself out of boredom.

"Ray," Stefan says, walking over to him and taking one of the darts that was stuck to his neck. "You know how to end this now, just tell me where your pack is."

"I can't tell you that." Ray pants through the pain.

"Right, pack loyalty and shit." Cass nods from the small table she's sitting on. "Cant we just compel it out of him? How much vervain can he have on his system?" she asks, starting to walk over to Ray and ready to do as she said.

"No, no, I'm going to get it out of him." Stefan protests.

"Stefan, we've been at this for hours." She whines. She suddenly perks up, getting an idea. Ray's eyes go from her to Stefan and back again. "Maybe I can find a spell to get the information out of him?" she asks.

Stefan is about to talk when a brunette walks towards Klaus and starts to whisper to him. The other two vampires meet eyes, their small quarrel forgotten completely. Oh, those are not good news. Cassandra closes her eyes briefly as she hears what the brunette has to say: she saw Damon at the house. _Fuck_, she thinks, turning her expression to neutral and walking toward Klaus.

"My brother's still on our trail?" Stefan asks, right behind Cassandra.

"He's getting closer," Klaus says, his eyes going to Cassandra calculatingly. "I'm going to have to do something about that."

He starts to walk away but Stefan stops him. "No, no, let me handle it."

This is it, her only chance to see him again. She's not about to let that one pass.

"Oh, can I go too?" she asks, walking to Klaus' other side and pretending to be a little kind on Christmas. "I have a feeling Stefan is not going to be exactly nice and I'm bored. Maybe inflicting a bit of both emotional pain and physical may be all I need. Please, Klaus, let me go with him." She pouts.

Klaus stares at her. She doesn't even let the hope that's starting to brew at the pit of her stomach show on her eyes. Klaus turns to Stefan, his gaze hardening but Cassandra knows she already has the free-pass. She's been trying so hard to get it and she has it. She's earned it. Suddenly, the small smile that was threatening to appear leaves. She has never earned Klaus trust so easily. Something else is going on. And like that, all her hope and happiness and maybe a bit of giddiness is out of her body as she exhales.

"Aren't you even having a little bit of fun?" Klaus asks, signaling to Ray.

Cassandra blinks, focusing back into reality. Stefan simply puts a hand in her shoulder and forces her to move forwards.

"We are going to make sure my brother doesn't follow us anymore," Stefan says as form of departure.

They walk out of the bar and to the car in total silence. Only when they're halfway there do one of them dares to speak.

"Are you sure about this?" Stefan asks, looking at Cassandra sideways. "I _will_ make sure he doesn't follow us."

"I know," she says. "But I also know this may as well be the last time I get to see him." She admits, looking at Stefan carefully, not sure if she can trust him or not.

Stefan nods, taking that information in. he then starts to explain his plan to her and she admits that, even if she hates the plan, it's actually pretty good. There's no way Damon is going to follow them again after this. And even if it hurts, she's glad because that means he's finally going to be safe.

…..

"Hello?" Andy asks as the light hits her square in the face, blinding her. She laughs nervously. "It's not funny, guys! You're burning my corneas."

Nobody answers her. She moves to the side, trying to see who it is that's standing there. She can see a silhouette but she can't see their face. She starts to freak out when the light follow hers. She laughs again before waving them off and turning around, only to almost walk into none other than Cassandra Woodhouse.

"Cassandra!" she exclaims, pressing a hand to her raging heart.

"Andrea," Cassandra says, just as emotionlessly as ever when it comes to Andy.

"Where have you been? We've been looking for you all summer!" Andy demands, sounding almost worried. "Are you with Stefan?"

"Shut up." Cassandra compels her.

Andy closes her mouth shut, feeling her heart beat hard against her ribcage. Cassandra grabbed her arm and turned her around, starting to walk towards the now turned-off light. Stefan is standing in the middle of the room, a serious expression etched to his features. Andy feels her body weaken with fear. She can tell by their expressions this is not going to be a nice meeting.

"Text Damon and tell him to come here," Cassandra orders her.

"Don't mention us," Stefan continues.

"Or we'll kill you." Cassandra finishes his sentence, making Andy's eyes widen in terror.

…..

Damon enters the studio, looking around the incredibly quiet place. He stops when he accidentally kicks a purse that's been abandoned by the floor. That's Andy's. he frowns and looks up, trying to see if he can hear Andy.

"Stefan," he says when he spots his brother.

"Brother," Stefan nods.

"You don't write, you don't call," Damon says, walking around Andy's purse and towards his brother.

"You need to stop following me." Stefan orders, ignoring Damon's comment. "You're causing some… problems."

"With who? Klaus?" Damon shoots back immediately. "I'm suppose to care what he thinks?"

"You're supposed to let us go." Stefan repeats.

Damon frowns again and takes another step forward. _'Us'_ as in Stefan and Cassie? Is she here?

"I saw your little work at Tennessee, keep that up and there will be no saving you." Damon comments, obviously stalling and hoping Cass will show up at some point.

"That's the thing," Stefan chuckles, looking down. "I don't want to be saved."

"He doesn't need to be saved." Cassandra finally walks to stand next to Stefan, a bit tired of the banter. Her breath gets stuck in her throat when her eyes meet Damon's but she doesn't show any emotion in her face or eyes.

"We'll I've got a birthday girl at home who is not going to like that." Damon shrugs, almost mockingly.

"Tell her to shut up and grow up." Cassandra retaliates, not even blinking. "Maybe that way she'll learn something."

"I can't do that," Damon says, a bit freaked over the fact that she's not reacting to his presence at all.

"Maybe we haven't made our point." Stefan comments to Cassandra, making her hum in agreement. "Andy, you still there?" he looks up to where Andy is standing dangerously close to the end of the roof.

"Andy?" Damon asks, confused.

"Oh, yes," Cassandra says. "Your little friend was very willing to help."

She points upwards and Damon follows her signal with his eyes. Andy is crying, shutting her eyes tightly so she won't see how far up she is.

"Damon, he told me not to move." She cries, shaking her head slightly. "He told me that I can't move."

"No, no, no, Andy, stay calm." Damon tries to console. It's a total failure, his own voice is alarmed. "Everything is going to be okay." He glares at his brother and at Cassandra then, incredibly angry. "Not cool at all."

"Oh, come on! It's a little bit cool, no?" Stefan mocks. "Andy, you can move now." He calls to Andy.

"What? No, no, no!" Damon exclaims, not wanting Andy to die.

Cassandra closes her eyes briefly before forcing them open. Damon tries to save Andy but Stefan throws himself at Damon and pushes him to the wall. Cassandra watches how Andy's face is full of fear and she decides to take matters into her own hands. With one pointed look, she forces the life out of Andy as painlessly as possible. By the time Andy's body collapses against the cold floor, she's long dead. Cassandra walks a few steps towards her, looking down at the broken woman. She hated her out of jealousy but she never believed she'd be killing Andy. Another innocent name to add to her pile of kills.

"Stop following us." Stefan growls at his brother before running out of the building.

Cassandra isn't so fast, though. Her eyes are still trained on Andy and she's actually feeling remorse. _We've been looking for you all summer!_ She had helped Damon; she was probably the only person Damon had told about the killings, about the trail. And now she had taken that away from him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Damon demands, his voice raising.

She snaps her eyes away from Andy to look at him, eyes icy and hard as an iceberg. "There is nothing wrong with me." she lets him know, even if it's a blatant lie.

"You sell yourself to a powerful hybrid to save me, you leave me a message to let me know your plan and then _you kill my friend_?"

He's practically yelling by now, expecting some sort of reaction from the redhead, waiting for her to yell back, to hit him, to insult him, to do anything. But she doesn't. She simply looks at him, an impassive look etched to her face. She really wants to ask how he knew she killed Andy midway but she doesn't ask. Instead she meets his eyes once more before turning around, ready to leave. Damon reaches out and takes her arm, making her pause.

"Let me go, Damon," she says.

Cassandra turns to face him slightly. She can see she's hurting him and that pains her but it's okay. Because he truly needs to let her go. He's safe without her. Her hand moves on its own accord to grab his and she lifts it away from her arm. Her hand lingers a second to long in his and she curses herself for it.

"Goodbye, Damon."

Cassandra walks away then, holding back tears. He doesn't stop her and part of her wishes he would.

…..

"You're back!" Klaus exclaims, looking up from the disaster that is Ray Sutton.

Sometime after they left, Klaus moved Ray to the pool table. He lays there, bloody and in pain, clearly distressed. He's no longer trying to mask it.

"I'd say 'I told you so' but I guess our presence already does." Cassandra comments sarcastically, making her way over to the pool table next to Ray's and propping herself up on it.

"Good," Klaus says, nodding at a brooding Stefan before focusing back on Ray. "See, Ray, it's a three steps process."

"I already told you where the pack is," Ray says. "What else do you want?"

"Clearly you haven't been listening to what I've said." Klaus reprimands. "I have great plans for you."

Klaus cuts his wrist with a knife and presses his wrist to Ray's mouth, forcing him to drink his blood. Cassandra looks on, interested. She's always wanted to know what happens if a werewolf gets turned.

"Don't worry, he'll thank me later." Klaus calls to the bar.

"And what now?" Ray coughs up.

"Step two, Ray." Klaus explains.

With one fluid motion, he snaps Ray's neck. Klaus then walks towards Stefan in the bar. Cassandra doesn't feel like eavesdropping but fragments of the conversation reaches her. Klaus doesn't believe Stefan doesn't feel, just as she feared.

"Your brother better believe your act, Stefan, for his own good." Klaus threatens and that's when Cassandra tunes the conversation out completely.

By now the tears she hold back the entire drive back are threatening to fall more than ever but she bites the inside of her cheek, so hard she tastes blood, until the tears disappear. She almost jumps out of her skin when she feels soft fingers pull her hair out of her face but she manages to control herself. She lifts her eyes to meet Klaus'.

"Did you have fun, love?" he asks.

"Lots," she hums, not believing the words leaving her mouth. "I am 100% sure I left an emotional scar that's not going to go anywhere." She pauses. "Oh, and I got to kill a bitch I hated." She adds.

"I'm glad to hear that. Finally someone is actually happy to be here." Klaus nods.

"Of course I'm happy to be here!" she exclaims even if her mind is screaming at her for saying those words. "And in a few hours, I'll get to find out what happens when a werewolf turns." She directs the conversation back to Ray, hoping the topic will steer away from personal questions.

"That's right…" he says, looking at Ray's dead body. "But first we need to go on a little road trip."

Cassandra groans, promising to herself she'll never go on another road trip in her life.

_**A/N: guys so sorry this took so looooongggggg. It took forever I am so sorrryyyyyyy. but here it is, thanks for waiting. read and review. uuhhh and favorite if you want and you know... follow... all those make me happy so... yeah...**_


	3. The Hybrid

**_Chapter 3: The Hybrid._**

_"__Whether suicide or a tragic accident, WPKW News has lost one of their shining stars,"_ the blonde woman from the news says.

Damon glances at the TV for a moment before going back to ripping the trails and newspaper clips from the map in his closet door. Movement near the door brings his attention again and he sighs, not looking away from the map.

"You can't stay away, can you?" he asks Elena.

After they fight yesterday, he thought she'd finally given up on finding Stefan but that's apparently not true. Elena hesitates for a second before walking closer to him, a sad shine to her eyes.

"You've been dodging my calls." Elena protests softly.

"It's been a busy day… you know, dead friend and all." He mumbles, finishing with the map.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elena demands.

"Happy Birthday, Elena," Damon starts sarcastically, walking over to his bed and pushing her slightly as he walks past her. "Stefan asked Andy to jump to her death; Cassandra killed her before anyone could find out if she survived the fall. Cake?" he asks, dumping the clips and notes on his bed.

"He called me, Damon." Elena confesses, letting in a deep breath. Damon pauses and frowns, confused. "Stefan called me last night." Elena continues with a bit more of determination.

"And what did he say?" Damon asks, not believing her completely.

At this, Elena's bravado falls a bit and she glances at the floor for a second before looking up at him again.

"He didn't really say anything but I know it was him. I asked Sheriff Forbes to trace the call; it came from Tennessee."

Damon considers her for a moment and Elena feels the hope start to run through her veins. Maybe he'll believe her this time. But then he blinks and his face is set in the same angry and slightly broken frown he's been wearing for quite some time now and all her hopes burn away in a moment of anger towards the older Salvatore. Why can't he believe her? How can he give up?

"Stefan is gone, Elena." He snaps, grabbing the newspaper clips from the bed and walking to the chimney. "They're gone and I don't mean geographically."

Elena doesn't miss how he has a bit of trouble letting the word 'they' out of his lips.

"If he were gone, he wouldn't have called." Elena insists, her tone more tender this time.

Damon doesn't answer her. He keeps his back to her and lights a match, letting it fall inside the chimney so his entire research will burn to nothing but ashes. Elena shakes her head and leaves the room, disappointed at him. If Damon doesn't want to help her, that's fine. She'll find someone else who will.

….

Birds caw as Stefan, Klaus and Cassandra walk further into the mountains, to where they know Ray's pack is preparing for the full moon. Cassandra admits she's a bit worried. She's never been too fond of the wolves, especially on a full moon.

"You want to stop? Is Ray getting a bit heavy?" Klaus mocks Stefan. "We've been walking for a long time now."

"I'm fine." Stefan grunts, making sure Ray's body doesn't fall from his shoulders.

"You sure, Stef?" Cassandra asks, glancing at him with a teasing glint in her eyes. "You sound a bit out of breath."

"Shut up, Woodhouse." He snaps at her.

"Someone is being cranky." She observes, rolling her eyes.

"Your self-loathing is suffocating." Klaus agrees, shaking his head.

"Maybe that's because we've spent all this time chasing after werewolves," Stefan comments. "Not exactly fun."

"Yes, but now thanks to Ray, we've found ourselves a pack." Klaus informs them as they make a sharp turn.

Cassandra looks forward to see what can only be described as a camp. There are tents, a bonfire, multiple camping objects like food and water. She knows this is the pack they'd been looking for so long now. They're the kind of werewolves that love to run free during the night, the ones that enjoy the hunt. The pack members stop talking when they see Stefan walking into their small clearing, Cassandra not too far behind. She looks at the wolves with disgust. Stefan simply, wordlessly, allows Ray's body to fall on the ground.

"Ray!" a brunette girl exclaims, running to Ray and trying to check for a pulse. "Oh, my God!"

A blond guy with beautiful blue eyes walks towards her and puts a hand in her shoulder, Cassandra supposes as support.

"Who are you?" the brunette demands, suddenly remembering the presence of the two vampires.

"The important question should be," Klaus says, walking into the clearing for dramatic effect as he speaks. "Who am I? My name's Klaus."

Like lighting striking the ground, the energy around the camp changes. It happens so quickly and it's so overwhelmingly strong, Cass feels a bit dizzy. The brunette wolf gets up with some prompting from the blond guy, who immediately takes her hand protectively.

"You're the hybrid." The brunette openly stares.

"You've heard of me, then." Klaus nods, an evil smirk covering his features. "Fantastic."

…

"A werewolf that can turn whenever he wants to; a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun." Klaus rants, although to Cassandra it looks like he's actually awed at himself. Talk about an ego. "A true hybrid." He chuckles slightly.

Just then Ray decides to come back to life, gasping for air. Stefan gets up but Cassandra doesn't even bother. She simply remains sitting in the big rock they're using as a bench, her legs crossed over one another, one arm resting lazily over her legs and her elbow propped up in her knee, her hand serving as support for her chin. She eyes at each and one of the werewolves long enough to make them squirm.

"Ah, Ray! Perfect timing!" Klaus exclaims, opening his arms.

"What's happening to me?" Ray pants, laying his face on the ground.

"Stefan?" Klaus asks. It's more of a command, really.

"Are any of you human?" Stefan asks out loud. Nobody answers.

"Ray needs human blood to turn, otherwise he'll die. I'm sure you know the process. So, are any of you willing to pop a vein?" Cassandra asks, lifting the hand that's not supporting her chin to play with a strand of her red hair.

"Doesn't take much, just a sip." Klaus adds, resting his hand in Cass' shoulder before getting up, his fingers gracing her arm. "Anyone wants to offer? A boyfriend, a girlfriend along for the ride?"

Cassandra knows he's talking to the brunette and the blond wolves. The only ones who truly seemed to care about Ray. She eyes them, trying to see which one will be willing to give their life up for a person they love. They just continue to look scared. The blond guy meets her eyes for a second. He looks a lot like Matt, actually. Well, he _reminds_ her of Matt. Sweet, caring, sexy Matt. She can't take it, it reminds her too much of home and the life she left behind once again.

"Him," she says before she even processes her words. "Pick him, Nik."

"As you wish, sweetheart." Klaus agrees before forcing the blond's arm to his mouth and biting him.

Klaus throws the blond guy to the ground near Ray. Stefan grabs his arm and shoves it in Ray's face, an almost animalistic look crossing his features as his eyes go from Ray to the wound in Ray's friend's arm.

"If you don't do it, I will. Only difference, Ray, is I won't be able to stop." Stefan threatens, although Cassandra isn't sure if he's saying it to scare Ray or because he means it.

Ray hesitates for a few moments before leaning forwards and drinking from his friend. The brunette woman gets angry and throws herself forward to stop it. Klaus grabs her, though, and forces his wrist, which he previously bit, to her mouth, forcing her to feed. Cassandra takes a step backwards, suddenly very aware that everything could go to hell in a few seconds if Klaus isn't able to control the situation.

"Don't worry," Klaus says to the rest of the pack. Everyone is starting to stand nervously and at the ready. "She'll thank me later." With that he snaps the brunette's neck.

Cassandra wonders whether Ray and the brunette girl will really thank Klaus or if they'll hate him. Or worse, what if this doesn't work? Klaus would lose it.

"All right," Klaus allows his fangs to lengthen, veins appearing under his eyes and a yellow glow adding to them. "Who is next?" he asks, looking around for his next victim.

…

It's been a couple of hours since Ray woke up. Since then, Klaus has made his way around the pack, successfully forcing half of the pack into transition. The other half is too terrified to flee or do anything. They just stand there, some of them staring at their unconscious friends, other keeping an eye on the two vampires and the hybrid on the clearing. Stefan is standing on the side, glaring at nothing in particular, while Klaus is compelling the blond guy to relax and keep up his strength. Cassandra, however, is studying Ray.

Something is definitely wrong. He is trembling, his eyes are dazed and he's all covered in blood. She's not sure if it's new blood or the old one because of the torture from before. It looks fresh, though. What worries her most is the fact that he's crying _blood._ That has never happened before.

"What's happening?" Ray asks when Klaus gets near him.

"He's still in transition. He should be feeling better soon." Klaus observes, talking to no-one in particular.

Cassandra wonders if he's trying to reassure himself. She walks closer to Ray, kneeling in front of him. He's trembling and spluttering blood, she's certain now.

"So this was your plan all along, to make hybrids slaves." Stefan comments, leaning on a tree.

"Not slaves, Stefan, soldiers." Klaus corrects.

Cassandra ignores the stupid conviction that Klaus will ever need an army. He's feared by many and nobody would ever try to fight him. Not in a way that he would need an army for, anyway. She doesn't express her opinion, though. Her hands find either side of Ray's face, forcing him to look at her. Ray shakes even if she's holding him and his eyes are scared and glassed over. He consumed human blood a few hours ago, that's enough for him to have gotten over the transition.

"For what? We're not at war." Stefan defies, raising an eyebrow.

"That's how it works. You build an army so big, Stefan, that when the moment arrives, nobody dares to pick a fight." He explains.

Cassandra lets her hands fall from Ray's face. There is something wrong. He should be fine but he's losing so much blood, she's worried he may bleed to death.

"What makes you sure they'll be loyal?" Stefan asks, a slight tone of sass slipping through his monotonous voice.

"Will you stop it?" she yells, getting their attention. She doesn't care if Klaus is looking at her like he might hurt her. She doesn't care if she showed emotion. Ray was suffering and she would not sit back and simply watch, not when Ray hadn't even wanted to be a vampire. "There's something wrong. This isn't supposed to happen."

"Well, obviously." Klaus frowns, sitting next to Ray and examining his face.

"You said I was gonna feel better." Ray manages out, hugging himself and trying to get warm. "Why am I not feeling better?"

"Cassandra?" Klaus asks, getting up and crossing his arm over his chest.

She looks up, startled, before realizing he's asking her because she's the witch. She's supposed to know about this stuff. She has no idea what-so-ever.

"I don't know… I—this shouldn't happen, he should be able to transition without a problem." She mumbles, getting up as well and looking down at Ray.

A gasp brings their attention to the other side of the clearing, where the brunette has come back to life. They look at her momentarily before Klaus forces the blond guy, Eric apparently, to his feet.

"Eric, feed your girlfriend." Klaus orders, showing the brunette the guy's arm.

The girl stumbles forwards and then, out of nowhere, Ray freaks, growls and starts to run. He's out of the clearing in a blink of an eye.

"Go get him," Klaus says. Stefan leaves quickly and Cass goes to follow him but Klaus stops her abruptly. "No, you stay. I want you to tell me what's going on."

"With what?" she asks, suddenly a bit nervous. "I swear I don't know what's wrong with them."

Klaus wants to speak further but he apparently realizes she's saying the truth because he frowns, turns around and leaves. Cassandra shakes her head, yelling at herself to get her act together. What the fuck was that with worrying over Ray, a _werewolf_? _Stop it! Klaus will kill you,_ her mind screams, _he will kill Damon if he finds out you've been acting all this time._

Klaus storms back into the clearing, looking even gloomier than before. This time, however, she doesn't show concern, she does nothing.

"Go find Ray," Klaus barks at her, grabbing her arm and forcing her to the end of the clearing. "Stefan was bitten so I'm guessing he'll be a bit slow."

Her heart stops for a few seconds before starting again but she doesn't say anything, she doesn't let the sudden fear that clenches at her stomach show. She simply shoves Klaus away and walks out, not even glancing back.

….

She's been walking for around twenty minutes now, maybe more. She hasn't found Ray yet, though. Or Stefan, for that matter. She's getting nervous about it, too. She turns to her right, her hand grazing the tree next to her. That's when she hears them; the voices. They're panicked and stressed, but most importantly, she _knows_ them. She walks faster and soon enough she's next to them, witnessing how Damon kicks Ray in the face, knocking him unconscious.

"Let me guess; hybrid." Alaric pants, his heart still racing.

"Yes," Cassandra says, dragging their attention to her.

Elena freezes, staring at her with widened eyes. Anyone would think Cassandra is a ghost, judging by Elena's reaction. Alaric simply glances between the redhead and Damon, knowing this is only going to lead to chaos, most likely.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Damon asks, turning to her.

"I didn't do anything." Cassandra snaps. She walks forward to Ray and lifts his face by grabbing him from the root of his hair. He's definitely out. Perhaps he's even dead. It's only wishful thinking. "Something went wrong. Ugh, this is just—everything's a mess." She mumbles, letting go of Ray's head.

"What are you doing here?" Elena demands, taking a step forward.

Cassandra simply looks at her as she gets up. Elena squirms under her gaze and Cassandra allows a small smirk.

"What are you doing here? Decided to go werewolf hunting or hybrid hunting?" she asks, walking closer to Elena. She circles her, trying to see how much pressure is needed to make Elena break. "Or… wait, are you here because you've gone _Stefan_ hunting? Sweetie, I'm sorry but you're wasting your time." She mocks, feigning a pout.

"Cassandra." Damon warns, realizing Alaric is staring to point his crossbow at her.

Cassandra glances at Alaric before rolling her eyes and snapping her fingers. With the blink of an eye, the crossbow changes and starts to become an ugly big green snake. Alaric lets go of it quickly and the snake falls to the ground, zigzagging its way around the dried leaves until it disappears.

"Careful, a bite from that snake is always nasty." Cassandra chastises, even if her tone suggests she couldn't care less. "You'd be dead within minutes." She adds with a monotonous tone that makes Elena's skin crawl with anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Elena demands.

But Cassandra ignores her completely as she turns back to Ray. "We should really restrain him or he'll wake up and run again."

"Why should we even listen to you?" Elena asks in an annoying tone of voice that makes Cass wonder how people love her so much.

"Because if you don't, you'll die," she answers, turning to face her. "And nobody would want little Elena Gilbert to die, now would they?" she asks sarcastically.

"Are you threatening me?"Elena asks.

Cassandra pauses for a minute and stares at Elena. This woman is unbelievable. Cassandra was telling the truth, they are going to die. Of course she added the sarcasm at the end so they won't think she actually does care.

"Threatening you?" Cassandra repeats. "I'm stating facts, Elena, so try and be a little more thankful. Ric? Will you help me restrain Ray?" she asks, turning to face Alaric.

Alaric hesitates, simply looking at her. She raises her eyebrows but he doesn't move. Elena doesn't move, either, instead, she just stands there; glaring at Cass. She frowns slightly, are they really not going to help her? She avoids Damon, even if she knows he's looking at her, and instead glares at Alaric.

"I wasn't actually asking you." She lets him know. "I was giving you a command."

Alaric grunts but he takes off his backpack and puts it on the floor as he crouches down to open it. Cassandra stands back to let him and Damon restrain Ray to a tree with ropes. The ropes are soaked in wolfsbane and Damon makes sure they're tight enough.

"Here," Elena says after she's soaked some of the ropes in vervain. "Take this, Ric."

Damon reaches out and takes the ropes before letting out a hiss and dropping them. Elena grimaces while he shakes off his hand that got stung with vervain.

"She said Ric." Cassandra points out, earning a small glare from the Salvatore.

"What's going on?" Damon asks her as he walks closer.

"I already told you I did nothing." She replies instantly, not even battling an eyelash.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you don't know what's going on." Damon shoots back. "So, I'll ask you again, what's going on?" he asks.

Cassandra hesitates, even if her stand or face reveal nothing. Should she tell them? They shouldn't even be here. If she tells them, maybe they'll leave. Perhaps they'll leave them alone. Besides, if Klaus didn't find out she had said something, everything would be fine. So she makes a decision she'll probably regret later but that now she believes necessary; she lets her guard down, not for the first time today. She knows Damon has caught on the moment his eyes go from hard blue to a softer shade.

"You need to leave," she says.

Damon goes to open his mouth, clearly to ask her to elaborate, but Elena jumps in before the words can say anything. She walks closer to the pair, an angry scowl in her face.

"Excuse me?" Elena asks. "Who died and made you the boss here? What makes you think you can tell us what to do?" she demands, crossing her arms across her chest and tilting her head to the side so her hair cascades down the side.

"What is wrong with you today?" Damon asks, turning to face Elena. He makes a face at her to tell her to shut up but Elena ignores him.

"Nik wants to create hybrids… an army, actually. But something's not working; look at Ray, he's a mess and bleeding everywhere." Cassandra explains, walking over to Ray and looking at him closely. "Hybrids can turn at will. So the moon reaching its apexwon't be a fact on your side, it'll be against you. You must leave." She finished, turning back around.

"An army?" Damon asks, practically scoffing at the idea. "Why does he want an army?"

"I'm not talking anymore." Cassandra reveals. "Leave this mountain or I'll make you. And, this time, I _am_ threatening you." And just like that she goes back to being the monotonous corpse she was when she found them in the clearing.

Just then Ray comes to and his muscle start to contract. He screams out in pain, struggling against the ropes that are restraining him. Elena jumps away from him as soon as he can, while Alaric points at him with another crossbow Cass has no idea where he got from. Damon grabs Cass arm and forces her back; she lets him without thinking. It's second nature; she only knows he touched her because her entire body tenses and her skin feels on fire.

"He's turning?" Elena asks, horrified.

"Looks like it." Alaric comments.

"Just leave, all right?" Cassandra snaps. "That's not going to hold him for long."

Alaric and Elena don't need to be told twice. They take off running as fast as they can. Damon hesitates. He can't possibly leave her here alone with a rabid hybrid.

"Go." She orders, glancing at him. "I'll leave too." She promises.

"Then leave," he says.

"With your luck, you'll stay and end up getting bitten again." She explains, trying really hard not to smile.

"But if I leave now," he says, getting closer to her. "You may stay."

By now, the ropes are near ripping and they only have seconds. She glances at Ray, who looks crazed, before looking back at Damon and taking a step back.

"Then we'll have to leave at the same time."

They agree silently and start to back away, moving slowly at first but then flashing out of there as fast as possible. Cassandra runs faster when she hears Ray's gotten his way out. She only hopes Damon, Alaric and Elena will be able to get out of these mountains on time.

….

She sits in front of the fire, staring at nothing in particular. It's night already and she's back in the camp. Klaus got incredibly violent when she appeared with no good news. She told him about how Ray had almost attacked her, how Ray had lost control, how he had turned and she had had to flee. Klaus had actually slapped her so hard her cheek was still purple. It was the drop that made the small glass of her patience overflow. She's done with all this bullshit. It's time to start planning a way out. She sits there until the fire is out, only some embers still burning. She sits there and watches how all the hybrids go rabid, how Klaus has to kill every single one of them. She witnesses how some of the hybrids simply bleed out. Every once in a while, Klaus glances at her and she simply stares blankly at him, unfazed. Cass knows he wants her to explain why the hell this is happening but she honestly doesn't know. And even if she did, there's no way she's telling Klaus now. Some rustling of leaves alarms her of Stefan's arrival and she turns her head to see if he succeeded in finding Ray. He's carrying Ray's body and, once he's close enough to Klaus, he drops it on the ground.

"I had to kill him. He went crazy." He pants as he holds his wounded arm.

Klaus stays quiet for a second, simply staring at the ground.

"Some of them went rabid and I had to kill them," Klaus starts, getting up and meeting Stefan's eyes. "Others bled out. In the end, they're all dead." He finishes with a tone that suggests he's about to throw a tantrum.

Sure enough, Klaus growls and screams as he turns around and sends his bottle of beer flying to a tree. He screams some more, letting his rage and sorrow out. Cassandra blinks up at him before glancing at Stefan with a curious lift of her eyebrow. Stefan nods slightly at her and she feels herself relax. So Damon and Elena were able to make their way out of here, good.

"I did everything I was told!" Klaus raged, his eyes widened. "I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse, I killed the werewolf, I killed the vampire, I killed the doppelganger." He pants, his gaze unfocused. "Why can't I turn them?" he demanded, turning to look at Cass.

"I don't know," she said evenly and slowly, as if talking to a child.

Klaus then looks at Stefan and Cassandra can swear the younger vampire stops breathing for a moment. Because he knows as well as she does that the doppelganger is still alive.

"You look like hell." Klaus comments to him, close to getting his composure back.

"Last I checked I'm dying." Stefan remarks, walking closer but not too much. "I failed you," he says, referring to Ray's death. "I'm sorry. Do what you have to do." He walks closer to Klaus this time.

Both vampires regard each other before Klaus turns and grabs a bottle of beer. He turns to face Stefan before biting his wrist and letting his blood drip into the bottle. He hands it over to Stefan.

"Bottom's up." He orders.

Stefan grabs the bottle hesitantly before drinking until he knew he had drunk all the blood. Klaus then turned to Cassandra, leaning down and grabbing her arm to force her to get up harshly.

"We're leaving," He tells her as he starts to drag her.

"I can walk alone, Nik." She growls, tearing her arm out of his grasp. "Don't fucking touch me."

Cassandra glares at him for a moment before she turns and starts to walk to where she knows the car is. Klaus keeps his eyes on her until she disappears before glancing at the dead hybrids around him. He looks down and starts to walk towards the way Cassandra had left. He pauses when he notices Stefan hasn't moved yet.

"You're the only comrade I have left, as you can see." Klaus lets Stefan know, even if he's not sure why he said it.

With that he leaves. Stefan looks down at his healed arm before dropping the bottle of beer and following Klaus out of the clearing in the woods, now more worried than ever that Klaus will find out Elena is actually alive. And that's most likely the reason why Klaus' hybrids are dying.


End file.
